Time to Choose
by Dearlady2002
Summary: FINISHED! A rather aged Sarah finds herself face to face once again with the Goblin King, who has an interesting proposition for her. An original Labyrinth story with a twist of Cinderella for flavour. Prequel to 'The Red Book.' FINISHED!
1. A familiar blonde head, and a familiar r...

Disclaimer: Jareth, Sarah, and the Labyrinth are owned by Jim Henson, George Lucas, and all those other guys. Don't sue me;, I'm writing fan fiction for my own measly entertainment, as I fully suspect no one else is reading this. *laughs* Heather, Dawn, and any other characters and places not mentioned in _Labyrinth_ are my own creations. Do not steal my characters. If you would like to "borrow" them for your own storyline, just ask. I like to know where my kids are. ^.^

Time to Choose

Written By Andrea "Dearlady2002" Brink

January 2003

Summary: An aged Sarah had completely forgotten about the nightmare she'd had as a young girl; wishing Toby away, until her granddaughter reads her a book, and Sarah finds herself face to face with the Goblin King again.

This is only the second story I've written, and the first I've posted on fanfic.net, so bear with me if I'm making huge mistakes during posting and all that. I had the Tom Petty song "Last Dance With Mary Jane" in mind and added a twist of _Cinderella_ for flavour. When I first started writing this, it was _supposed_ to be a short, one-chapter piece, but I wanted to go into more detail with it, so since then it has evolved into a slightly longer story. 

If you love my story, tell me! I appreciate and welcome comments, even if they are not _entirely_ positive. If you hate it… well, still tell me, but nicely.  ^.-

Thanks! 

Andrea

            Chapter 1: A familiar blonde head, and a familiar red book.

            Dressed in her warmest flannel nightgown, Sarah lay in bed, carefully tucked in under several layers of warm blankets. Although it was only eight pm, she had been sleeping, until a noise of some sort had woken her. Most likely the house settling again. The old house seemed to emanate all sorts of strange noises; everything from various creaks and moans, to squeaks and scraping noises. And it had the right to, she thought; the house was well over a hundred years old by now. It was already thirty-something years old when her parents had bought it, and that was long ago. Sarah herself would be eighty-three years old in less than a month, so she knew that when you grow old, things don't sit like they used to. Old cartilage and joints were bound to creak, just as a house's construction would. 

            She sighed; even with the warm pajamas and blankets, she was still a bit cold. Damned circulation. It was too long a walk to the thermostat in the living room, so she snuggled down under the covers again, trying to stay warm. A few strands of gray hair fell in her eyes, and she irritably brushed them away with a wrinkled hand. She'd meant to have that mess cut short years ago, but she hadn't the time. 

            She was just drifting off to sleep again when she thought she heard another noise. She opened her eyes and looked towards the door. It slowly creaked inward, its antique hinges groaning as it opened. Sarah's heart froze for a second. Someone was in her house.

            The floorboards creaked under the added weight. Sarah buried down under the covers and closed her eyes. They could steal anything they wanted, she just didn't want to be hurt. They wouldn't hurt an old lady, would they?

            A blonde-headed figure shot up from the floor and landed on the bed beside Sarah, grabbing her arm. "Surprise!" Sarah opened her eyes at the sound of the voice she recognized. Her eight-year-old granddaughter was kneeling on the large bed next to her. 

            "Heather, you shouldn't sneak up on Grandma like that… you scared me," she said, placing a hand on her heart and putting on an exasperated tone that always made the girl laugh. It worked again; the little girl giggled, delighted she had managed to sneak up on her grandma. Sarah wouldn't tell her of course, but Heather had really had her scared for a minute there.

            She had had been living on her own for over two decades now, ever since her husband Jake had died. Her daughter, Dawn, and Heather came over to visit on weekends, and usually stayed for a few days at a time. She'd had forgotten they would arrive tonight.

            "I thought you were a burglar for a moment…" Dawn knew that Sarah was afraid of burglars. They had tried to get her to move into the spare room at their house so she would feel safer, but Sarah always denied their offer; she would not leave the house. She reached out and collected all the flyaway blonde hairs that had fallen from Heather's pigtails, and tucked them behind her ear. 

            At this the girls' smile faded. "Gramma, why don't you come live with me and mommy? We have a bedroom for you, all ready. I'd even let you have my room, if you wanted it." The girl looked up at her grandma, trying to arch an eyebrow as she had seen the adults do before. "It even has these pretty pink bunnies on the wallpaper…" she continued, trying to convince the stubborn old woman lying in bed. 

            Sarah smiled. The girls had begged her to come live with them before, but the answer was always the same. No. She wouldn't leave the house. They'd asked Sarah why, but she never would say. She honestly wasn't sure why herself. "So what have you been doing? Sneaking around my house I assume? Hmm?"

            The blonde-headed girl grinned, mischief dancing in her blue eyes. "Mmhmm," she nodded. "I found something…" The little girl hopped off the bed and ran to the door, then turned to look at her Gramma with a grave look on her face. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back. Okay?"

            Sarah smiled, which deepened the laugh lines that showed at the corner of her eyes. "I'll stay right here," she promised, snuggling deeper into the covers. Heather nodded and ran down the hallway, then thundered up the stairs somewhere, probably to her room. The truth was, even if Sarah had wanted to go anywhere to get away from the child, she couldn't. She could barely walk anymore. She'd moved to the guest room on the main level of the house years ago so she wouldn't have to try to climb the stairs with her walker. If her joints weakened much more, Dawn would certainly find her a wheelchair, even though Sarah despised the things.

            Heather ran back into the room and flopped down on the bed, holding a book. This didn't surprise Sarah, the child was in the second grade and had been getting rather good at reading, so each time she and Dawn visited, Heather read her gramma a new story. What did surprise her though, was the book she had. The wrinkled, slightly worn, faded red cover read _The Labyrinth._

            Heather saw the shocked look on her grandmother's face and quickly explained, thinking she was mad at her. "Me and Mommy were putting away my clothes in the dresser upstairs." Sarah nodded. Heather always stayed in Sarah's old room when she visited. Dawn stayed in what had been her parents' bedroom. "…And I found this in the mirror drawer. I wasn't _really_ snooping, honest."

            Sarah nodded, finally having some control over her heartbeat now. She thought she'd never see that book again, and had hoped no one would ever find it. It had given her such awful nightmares when she was a young girl. She had thought of destroying it completely, burning it or something, when she was younger, but she never could bring herself to do it. She didn't know why, perhaps it was guilt. Growing up, books were her life. It would be like a sin to destroy one, regardless of its effect on her sleep at the time. She'd never read it to Dawn as a child, not after she'd experienced that awful nightmare herself. Wishing away poor Toby. She'd never do such a thing. The occasional dream she'd had when her friends had visited her were lovely, but those were few and far between. Eventually, she stopped dreaming of them altogether. But she never knew when that nightmare would return. She wouldn't wish that on anyone.

            Heather was watching her, she realized, and she looked at the girl, forcing herself to smile. "So you've found a new story to read me?" The girl nodded, glad Gramma wasn't mad at her. "Dear, Grandma is very tired right now, could you…" _read it to me later,_ she thought, but saw the hurt look on the girl's face. Sarah pushed more gray hair out of her face and continued. "…turn on that lamp next to you? That will wake me up. And let you see better to read. You don't want to go blind, do you?" 

            Heather grinned, flipped on the light on the nightstand next to the bed, and flopped down beside Sarah. She pulled the plush covers up over her lap, sat back against the headboard and started reading. 

            Sarah listened to Heather read, trying to concentrate on how well she was doing, helping her sound out words when she couldn't pronounce them, but her mind kept wandering back to those nightmares she had had. She knew they were just nightmares, and ones she could barely remember anymore at that, but nevertheless, something about them, and that book, still unnerved her. 

            Before long, Sarah felt her eyelids growing heavy, and her world went hazy then black as sleep claimed her. 

            *****


	2. The Muppet Show at midnight, and the Fou...

So what do you think so far? Please tell me how you interpret this first section!

Andrea

            Chapter 2: The Muppet Show at midnight, and the Fountain of Youth in the morning.

            Sarah stirred when she felt someone pick her up and carry her up a flight of stairs then down a dark hallway. "Daddy, I want to stay up, I'm not tired…" she mumbled incoherently, and a soft laugh answered her. She knew she'd stayed up too late again watching the Muppet Show on tv, and she had school tomorrow. It was way past her bedtime. If she didn't get enough sleep, Mrs. Miller, undoubtedly the meanest teacher in the entire first grade, would yell at her for not paying attention.

            She felt herself carried to her bed, and laid down. She rolled onto her side as covers were pulled up over her, and gently tucked around her to keep her warm. A tender hand gently pulled a few strands of her chocolate brown hair back from her eyes and tucked them behind her ear, and she felt a pair of warm lips being pressed to her forehead. "Goodnight daddy…" she said, already asleep.

            A soft, high-backed chair was pulled across the room, and positioned closer to the bed. A pair of blue eyes watched her from it.

            "Goodnight, my beautiful Sarah."

            *****

            Sarah woke a few hours later, and opening one eye, looked around the room. Sunlight was just appearing through the curtains in the window, and Heather was nowhere to be seen. She must have fallen asleep last night while the girl had read to her. It wasn't the first time that had happened, nor would it be the last time she was sure, so Heather would have gone to her own room then. She was most likely still sleeping.

            Sarah was burying down under the covers again when more hair fell in her face. She sleepily brought a hand up to brush the strands out of the way and paused. What the? The skin on her hand was smooth and unmarred with age spots or wrinkles. A lone freckle dotted the back of her hand; that was all. The faded scar she'd earned from the neighbor's cranky tomcat when she was thirty-six was gone. She quickly looked at her other hand. The mark on the pinky from where she'd had a malignant bone tumor removed when she was fifty was also gone. Scars don't completely disappear overnight, she mused.

            She flew from the bed in an explosion of covers and ran to the full-length mirror mounted on the wall. 

            She gasped at what she saw. A tall, brunette-haired woman dressed only in a thigh-length, spaghetti-strap nightgown reached one hand out towards Sarah's face. It wasn't until Sarah felt her fingertip hit the cold glass of the mirror that she realized she was looking at herself. She let her eyes fall over her form in the mirror. This was amazing, simply amazing. Her hair, completely devoid of any gray, was shiny and full of volume; nowhere in sight was the horrid, thinning mess she'd known for the last thirty years of her life. The crow's feet around her eyes were gone, and the slim hips she'd had at twenty-five replaced the full, grandmotherly figure she had at fifty. She ran her hands down the sides of the burgundy-colored silk nightgown and over her hips and let out a delighted squeal as she appraised herself in the mirror. Someone behind her laughed softly and she jumped, then quickly turned around to face this new noise.

            "Magnificent, isn't it?"

            She turned to find a man with a rather arrogant smile plastered across his face sitting on the back of a soft chair, his feet planted firmly on the seat of it. He had long, wild blonde hair, and sported a dark-blue vested coat over a white poets shirt. Blue pants that left nothing to the imagination and black leather boots completed his bizarre outfit. A pair of mismatched blue eyes met hers. While she had to admit he was very handsome in an unusual sort of way, she did not know this man.

            He had broken into her house.

            She planted her hands on her hips and stared at him as she realized he was letting his gaze wander over her lithe form approvingly. While she was surprised she had not heard the man enter the room earlier, she was not afraid. To the contrary, she felt her temper flaring up immediately. The Sarah of twenty-five had not been afraid of burglars. "What are you doing in my house?" she scowled. How dare this stranger break into her house, much less enter her bedroom. How dare he!

            The man laughed quietly. This woman was definitely still a handful; he could tell by that fierce stare alone. He met her brown eyes with his own, regarding her silently for a moment. When he finally spoke, she had to strain to hear his subdued tone of voice.

            "Whatever makes you think this is _your_ room?" He shook his head slowly, his eyes watching her the entire time. "I'm sorry, my dear girl, but _you_ are a guest in _my_ domain," he said quietly. She opened her mouth to argue back, then looked around the room and belatedly realized that she was, indeed, not in her room. Where was she then?

            "Who are you? Where am I?" She saw something resembling a winged-monkey staring at her from the mantelpiece. It was a stone sculpture. She looked away from the horridly ugly creature and back towards the pale man before her. "And if you tell me the set of the Wizard of Oz I'll just scream." She'd tried for the role of Dorothy in a major play when she was twenty, before she'd given up acting, but they said she was much too 'strong willed' for the character. Strong willed indeed, she snorted. 

            The tall stranger looked genuinely confused, but he answered her question anyway. Sort of. "You definitely are not on the set of the Wizard of Oz." He evidently thought that something was amusing, for one corner of his mouth slowly curved upwards in a feral smile, then quickly relaxed into a mask of feigned indifference as he arched one eyebrow. Sarah thought she saw sharpened canines in that flash of a smile, but she wasn't sure. Besides, what sort of freak would sharpen his teeth? He was an actor, that was it… He wore a funny looking wig and had artificial teeth applied to his own for his role; perhaps something with vampires? But what play was he from, she wondered. And more importantly, where was she? He still hadn't answered, and she felt her blood boiling once again. 

            She turned back to face the man. He was completely ignoring her, concentrating instead on rolling a small crystal ball across the palms and backsides of his hands, sending it smoothly from hand to hand. It was amazing how he could do that, she thought, much less in gloves. She watched him for a moment, then forced herself to tear her eyes from the glass ball. 

            "Well? Who are you? Where am I?" she repeated herself. This was getting old, far faster than she was. 

            He suddenly stopped playing with the crystal and looked at her, his mismatched eyes meeting her brown ones. "You were afraid of me for so long," he said softly, "and you don't even remember me…" He unexpectedly threw the crystal to her and she caught it, though a bit awkwardly. "I offered you your dreams…" he continued wistfully. 

            _A crystal, nothing more… But if you look into it this way, it will show you your dreams…_

She shook her head, and looked down at the smooth glass object in her palm. Though she could tell it was not hollow, the weight of it was surprisingly light for its size. Something about the crystal seemed so familiar, but she could not put a finger on it. She glanced back up at the man, and looked into his peculiar eyes. "What do you want with me?" she asked softly.

            "You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he replied. "Not yet anyways."

            *****


	3. Warring emotions and butterflies, white ...

Ok, firstly, so no one sues me, I'd like to thank the Starwars Characters book for some "inspiration" with the names Sarah comes up with. (Maybe she's a SW fan too?) Trying to find any original names nowadays is really a hunt!

And a bunch of reviews when I didn't expect _anyone_ would find this- what a wonderful surprise! I would like to take the time to thank everyone who has already emailed me with comments; the knowledge that even _one person_ enjoys what you're doing is more than enough reward for most artists, whether they draw, sculpt, act or write.

**Thanks to: lizz, Addie, Arianne, Graffitibox, Solea, Silver Space** (Thanks, trying to keep Jareth in character is sometimes difficult! And Sarah will wake up, I promise!), **Winter **(thanks also. Here is another chapter, just for you. *wink* And I'll keep posting as often as I can!), **Roses_Red, Zabella, PeachDreamer, Dark Mage Mistress**, and lastly, **Sway**, who's comment I really appreciated: _"I love the way Sarah's inner strength transforms along with her body. You've written all of your characters so far very well."_

Thanks!

Andrea

            Chapter 3: Warring emotions and butterflies, white shirts and _pants?_

"Yikes," Sarah said, sighing as she flopped down on the bed. "'Try me,' I tell him." God, she could have kicked herself for that reply. Still, the man had merely arched an eyebrow and smiled that damned Cheshire-cat grin of his. Though she still did not know her exact location, she had at least, finally, gotten the strange man to leave the bedroom.

            Before he had left, he had slowly brought one gloved hand up and placed it on her shoulder, gently tracing the spaghetti strap of her nightgown with a finger. 'I shall leave you to get dressed,' he had said, his mouth mere inches from hers, she recalled. She had shivered at his touch, then broken eye contact, quickly looking down at her feet so he could not see the sudden blushing of her cheeks. Though she hadn't seen him, he had grinned, then dropped the strap and told her to meet him for breakfast. After that, he claimed he would explain everything to her.

            Though she was not a particularly shy creature around men, the way he kept staring at her; letting his eyes linger over her form, left her feeling as if she should be looking for a robe or a blanket to hide behind.

            No, no, having him see her in a strappy little silk number felt like it were the most natural thing in the world next to breathing. Well, maybe not breathing, she reasoned, but close.

            Sarah shook her head to clear it. Part of her felt like she should run from this stranger while she still could, and the other part felt as if she'd known this man her whole life. She had never seen this man before, yet he looked so familiar… Either way, it was giving her the creeps.

            And the chills. Ooh the chills...

            *****

            A small crystal ball perched on the fingertips of the blonde-haired man. A pair of mismatched blue eyes gazed intently into it, following the figure portrayed inside. 

            When he could tell she was becoming uneasy with his presence, he had left her in the room when he could tell she was becoming uneasy with his presence, telling her to dress and meet him for breakfast. Only after she'd eaten would he explain anything to her.

            He watched as she made her way to a large door set in the wall. _Good, she's discovered the closet._ He figured she would find it soon enough. Curiosity always had run deep inside of her; she was bound to investigate her surroundings eventually.

            He looked away from the crystal for a moment and covered it with a gloved hand when she started lifting her nightgown over her head to change. He was an honorable king; stubborn and arrogant he was often told, but honorable, and would not disgrace Sarah by watching her without her knowledge. He had never watched any woman undress unless she had acknowledged his presence and still chose to bare herself before him.

            Though the Goblin King would not watch her, he did not stop his mind from imagining how she looked. He knew that stubborn female in the other room was more beautiful than any other woman he'd ever seen. While he could bed any woman in his kingdom by birthright as King, he had not been with anyone in a long time. _Almost seventy years,_ he realized. Something about that young, dark-haired mortal girl he remembered from before had captivated him.

            After a decent amount of time, he moved his hand and looked into the crystal again. He should have allowed her a bit more time, he realized, as he caught her just as she was buttoning up her pants. A brief flash of her panties and stomach was all he saw, so he let his honor reside.

            He squinted at the crystal and frowned as he realized what she was wearing; a drab pair of brown pants and a plain white shirt. Nothing patterned, no colors… And _pants?_ He frowned. Had she not seen the beautiful dresses he'd had placed in there?

            He realized she was leaving the room, out to search for him for breakfast no doubt, so he tossed the crystal he held into the air where it promptly disappeared. Making a motion with his hand, he produced another crystal, and tossed it at the wall. It disappeared with a shower of glitter before impact, and a soft, yet clear _ping_ _ping ping_ resounded down the hallway.

            *****

            Sarah turned a corner and sighed in frustration as she realized she had passed that particular tapestry before. She had only noticed it before because it depicted a beautiful dragon in brilliant red dyes. She'd loved fairy-tale things as a child, so naturally it had caught her attention.

            She'd been wandering for a short while, though she had no clue where she was going. Sarah stopped admiring the hanging and turned around sharply as she heard a noise behind her in the hallway. A small crystal ball bounced around a corner, moved towards her direction, and finally came to a stop a few feet away on the floor.

            At first she tensed, waiting for that peculiar blonde man from earlier to follow it around the corner, but he did not appear. She breathed a sigh of relief. Strangers had never bothered her before, but he was quickly changing that. What was his name anyway? He'd never told her.

            Everyone had a name of course, and she had always loved entertaining herself when she was younger by making up names for strangers she saw in town. Childish names such as "Roy" and "Timmy" eventually became "Reginald" and "Tobias." That was it; she'd make him a name. Besides, it wasn't as if she had anything better to do while roaming the hallways.

            Hmm… this was going to take some thought. Sarah contemplated for a minute, screwing up her face in thought as she stared at the ball on the floor. He wasn't just some ordinary guy off the street; he carried himself differently… more aloof; almost regally. An ordinary name just wouldn't do for him… it had to be… more exotic. And since she knew nothing about him, the name had to be doubly special. It had to be a bit quixotic and foreign.

            Mikhail? No. P'ter… Rilloah? No, she decided, his name would be more towards the beginning of the alphabet. Dennik? No… Gilad? Better, but still not quite right for him.

            Sarah thought for a while longer, mentally exchanging letters and vowels in the names for other letters, and finally came up with her own name for the strange man. She said it several times in her mind, but did not want to speak it out loud until she could ask him his real name. She couldn't wait to find out what it was and compare the two.

            Part of her still longed to see that handsome blonde man, but the other part still dreaded having to speak with him. She knew she had to though, if she wanted to go home. She still had no clue as to where she was.

            The crystal still sat on the floor where it had come to a stop earlier and she bent down to pick it up. It smoothly rolled a few feet away from her and came to a stop. As she stepped forward again to pick it up, the crystal bounced further down the hallway.

            Ah hah… she thought. Follow the bouncing ball…

            Tossing her hair over one shoulder and figuring she might as well get this over with, she followed the crystal ball around the corner, and out of sight.

            *****

            _Ping ping ping._ Not quite audible, but still perceivable.

            Jareth sensed the faint noise approaching down the hallway and rose from his seat at the end of a long mahogany table. The footsteps stopped outside the door, and a moment later it was slowly pushed open. A timid hand appeared on the frame of the door, hesitated a moment, then the door was pushed open more boldly and Sarah stood resolutely in the entrance.

            Jareth let his gaze fall over her, now that she was properly dressed and not glaring at him in a somewhat revealing silk nightgown. What surprised him was, now that he saw her in person, the plain pants and shirt looked extraordinary on her. The drab brown pants that were actually soft leather, and more of a tawny-chestnut color than brown, hugged her slender hips just enough to be sensuous without appearing audacious. And the simple white shirt was actually a very striking shade next to her dark hair. He supposed some women were naturally beautiful, no matter what they wore. Even if they wore _pants_.

            Sarah noticed that the man had not changed out of his blue jacket outfit, though it did look like he had tamed his hair. Slightly.

            After immediately disregarding the dresses and skirts, Sarah had practically torn the closet apart looking for the least appealing set of clothing in there. The brown pants were the only pair that were long enough in the legs for her, and the shirt's neckline didn't plunge past her bra like the others, so she'd grabbed that. It had a slightly scooped neckline, but overall it was good enough; it would not enhance anything on her to draw his attention. He'd looked her over more than enough while she was standing in her pajamas earlier.

            Jareth bowed slightly and motioned for her to enter. "Come, come. Sit." he said, and pulled out a chair out for her. She remained in the doorway for a moment, hesitating perhaps, then slowly walked over to the seat, though she did not sit down yet.

            Sarah avoided meeting his eyes; she didn't want him seeing her so edgy, and looked down at the beautiful table instead. When she saw his inverted form staring at her from the reflection on the polished wood, she turned to inspect the room.

            She simultaneously had butterflies in her stomach, couldn't remember the name she'd made for him earlier, and felt glued to the spot in fear. Her emotions; the desire to see this man and find out more about him, and the maddening urge to flee, were warring inside her, churning in her stomach like acid. At this rate, she didn't think she'd be able to eat anything or she'd throw up.

            She quickly glanced at him and belatedly realized that he was staring at her from his seat, where he still stood, waiting for her to take her seat first.

            "Is something wrong?" he asked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

            Trying not to appear nervous, she shook her head and quickly sat down in the chair he'd pulled out for her.

            As she sat down and leaned forward to pull her chair in closer to the table, the neckline of her shirt dropped forward slightly, rewarding Jareth with a brief view of the pale skin and lacy bra that lay hidden beneath.

            Smirking slightly, Jareth slowly took his seat. He knew she'd have a freckle there.

            *****

            More to come soon!


	4. A high Vitamin C requirement, and a nigh...

Thanks again to everyone following along with my story. Reviews give me something to look forward to! **Thanks: LadyIconDragon, Jenny, Addie **(no, you're not crazy. The name Jareth does suit him better), **Silver Space, terrie, Winter, goodness, terrie **(again, *L*), **Sway** (thanks again, your comments are a wonderful help!), **terrie **(yet again! don't get me wrong, I do _love_ comments), **lizz **(I've been watching Labyrinth since I was about five, and thanks), and last but not least, **Graffitibox** (I _am_ writing more!).

Alright… sorry ahead of time, but this chapter is a bit shorter than normal. I haven't had quite as much time as I normally do to write, but I am working on the next chapter, I'll have it up as soon as I can. 

Andrea

            Chapter 4: A high vitamin C requirement, and a nightmare returned.

            Sarah pulled the few remaining seeds from the pomegranate she was eating, and popped the little red jewels in her mouth. She hadn't had one in years- her dentures couldn't handle the seeds- and she'd forgotten how wonderful they tasted. Sweet yet tangy, and slightly flavored of pears and raspberries. Her hands were dyed slightly red from where she'd broken some of the seeds open, but that would fade with washing.

            Jareth idly poked at his meal but did not eat much. Instead, he sat watching Sarah with a slightly bemused expression on his face. Never before had he seen someone devour so much fruit in one sitting. Perhaps fresh fruit was a delicacy Aboveworld, he considered. He knew virtually everything people bought came in… what were they called, cans? 

            Jareth regarded the pile of discarded pits, peels, and seeds on her plate a moment longer. Mortals must have an unusually high Vitamin C requirement, he reasoned. Yes, that was it. 

            At least she'd eaten, he reflected. For a moment, she had looked so pale he thought she'd be sick.

            Sarah set what was left of the blush-red outer shell and inedible white pulpy inside down on her plate, folded her hands in her lap, and looked pointedly at Jareth. _I've eaten, will you tell me where the hell I am now?_

Mortals must have an unusually high vitamin C requirement, he reflected. Yes, that was it. 

            Jareth cleared his throat and set his fork down beside his plate. He'd already decided to be straightforward with her. This was when, if ever, it would get ugly. "Very well then." He looked back up at her, and calmly met her brown eyes with his. "You are in the Underground, at my castle in the center of the maze that surrounds and protects my kingdom." 

            She was absolutely silent as she stared at him incredulously- until she burst out laughing. Great, he thought, she wasn't taking him seriously. "We are not in your world," he added quickly. This brought on a second attack of laughter. He'd have to show her somehow that he _was_ serious. She _must_ realize how critical this situation was! 

            "Damnit Sarah, listen to me!" he bellowed vehemently, standing up so fast from his chair he almost knocked it over. His tone of voice silenced her immediately, and she stared up at him with wide eyes. "I have brought you here to hear me out," he continued, his voice returned to its normal volume and intensity. She slowly nodded, her eyes still glued to his. 

            "I wish to make you an offer." he said as he slowly sank back into his chair. "You are going to have a hard time believing what I say, but you must." He stopped, and caught her eyes. "You _must_, Sarah," he repeated quietly. "The consequences of your decision are very, _very_ important- the fate of many people's lives will lie in your hands."

            She nodded one more time. He knew he had her full attention now.

            He also knew he couldn't just spring everything on the poor girl. He would have to do this gently. Jareth despised doing so, but he would have to beat around the bush a bit… let the seed of suspicion plant itself in her mind, grow a bit, then blossom fully as he told her everything. He rose from his seat and slowly started pacing the fine rugs laid out on the stone floor, his hands clasped behind his back. 

            "The horrid nightmares you had when you were younger… what were they about?"

            Sarah shook her head. "I don't really remember them very well. It's been ages…" An unyielding look from Jareth compelled her to continue. "I guess… someone, I think a man, made me wish my younger brother Toby away." How did he know about her nightmares? She never told anyone about them.

            Jareth nodded as he continued to circle the table, far too nonchalantly for Sarah's liking. 

            "Your granddaughter… Heather…What book was she reading to you when you fell asleep?" Sarah froze in place. Was he watching her even then? She clutched at her stomach under the table; those damned butterflies were back, working a knot in her stomach again. 

            Jareth watched Sarah squirm. This was becoming uncomfortable for her; dredging up old, unwanted memories. Things she'd banished from her mind years ago. 

            Sarah didn't recognize him yet, but she would soon. He was steering her in the direction of enlightenment, but she would soon figure it all out for herself.

            "She didn't get that far in the book, but you know it was _that_ man who was in your dreams." He looked into her eyes, and she stared back at him. 

            "I know that man, Sarah… he lives in this world." He stopped circling the table and looked directly at her again. "It wasn't a dream you had, not originally. You _did_ wish Toby away but you were able to defeat that man to get the baby back. Never before had anyone bettered him." Jareth's tone softened and took on a more mournful note. 

            "It almost killed him when you left… His wounded pride he dealt with, but a wounded heart he was never able to fully repair..." He turned his back to Sarah, and slowly moved to the window. He looked out over the valley below, brilliantly lit in the bright morning sun, and continued. 

            "For almost seventy years he dealt with that pain in silence, looking out his bedchamber windows each sunrise and sunset, wondering every day if he'd ever see you again."

            Behind him and out of his field of vision, Sarah watched Jareth from her seat. A perplexed look crossed her face, as if she were almost grasping a very complex idea, but at the last second, comprehension was yanked away from her. 

            He continued speaking, softly. "The man you defeated was from the book Heather read to you. It was called 'The Labyrinth,' wasn't it?" 

            An uneasy silence answered his query. 

            He stood at the window a while longer, closed his eyes and exhaled softly, then turned back to face Sarah. 

            She was still at the table, though she had risen from her chair and now regarded him with guarded eyes. She'd suddenly remembered her name she had made for this man earlier, and wanted to know his real name. She tiled her head at an angle, and looked into his blue eyes with her own, frightened ones. 

            "Who are you?" she asked.

            "You know who I am, Sarah," he replied quietly.

            She gazed into his eyes again. Those strange, mismatched orbs... So alien, yet so familiar... 

            She looked deeper into his eyes, and saw the yawning black depths of an oubliette reflecting from the pupil of his right eye. The left was cold and calculating, but this darkness held another, unidentified, emotion.

            She paled suddenly. "You're him…" she whispered, her voice quavering a bit. "You're the Goblin King."

He remembered the last time he'd heard her say that. She'd been fifteen, crying and scared, all alone and challenged by a stranger. He didn't think he could bear to see her cry again.

Jareth closed his eyes in pain, wanting to deny her question. 

            Gathering her courage, she slowly put one hand up, tentatively, and caressed his cheek.

            "Your name is Jareth." As her warm skin moved over his skin, he leaned into her touch and nodded, almost imperceptibly. 

            She had been right then; she didn't have to compare his real name to the one she'd made for him- it _was_ his name! 

            But that also meant that standing before her was the very man who had stolen her brother, as well as haunted her in countless nightmares; stealing precious sleep from her on many nights.

            Oh God, she thought, he _is_ Jareth!

            He felt the smooth skin of her fingers pull away from his cheek and he opened his eyes, waiting to see the hurt and betrayal in the woman's eyes.

            Instead, though, unfocused eyes met his. Sarah's knees buckled and she fainted, collapsing into his arms. 

            *****


	5. Mirror mirror on the wall, and one more ...

I'll have to do this every other chapter or so, but once again, **thanks to: terrie **(just curious, where are you from?), **Emer**, **Solea** (glad I can make your mornings better), **Jenny**, **Addie**, **Winter**, **Silver Space**, and **Sway** (And I'll answer your two questions- I can't tell you why Jareth brought Sarah back yet, and you'll have to read to find out why she's younger.)****

_*Assumes college-professor lecturing voice_* And lastly, to **Xelena**; you remarked that Heather does not look anything like Sarah, but remember- she's her granddaughter. She only has ¼ of her DNA. As far as her having blonde hair, no, it wasn't from Jake. I don't really mention him, but her blonde hair is a naturally occurring thing. 

Sarah has two dominant genes (DD) for brown hair, and Jake has a dominant and a recessive (Dd). Any one dominant gene will make you have brown hair. Dawn would have gotten the dom-rec (Dd) because she has brown hair, and when she had Heather, the father was a dom-rec (Dd) also. Heather inherited the two dominant genes (a one in four possibility), and _tada! _Blonde hair from two predominantly dark haired parents. *_Phew.* _*_Steps down off my soapbox_.*

Alright, without further ado, here's the next chapter, and don't worry, it's much longer than the last one. (Finger cramp, finger cramp!!) Hope you guys like it.

Andrea

            Chapter 5: Mirror mirror on the wall, and one more problem.

            The bright light streamed in the bedroom window, bothering neither of the rooms' occupants; one was sleeping, the other, lost in thought. Again, the plush chair sat a few inches from the bed, and from it a pair of mismatched blue eyes watched the girl. She stirred slightly in her sleep, then quieted again, her breathing slow and regular. 

            Warm hands brushed a bit of hair out of her face and tucked the strands behind her ear. She stirred again and her eyes opened a sliver, then quickly squinted shut against the bright light in the room. 

            "Where am…" she started asking, groggily.

            "Shh… You are here. You are safe." The warm hands pulled away from her face and she saw a figure, darkly silhouetted against the light, move to the window and draw the curtains. 

            Sarah covered her face with her hands, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness. After a minute, she pulled her hand away. She noticed the scar on the back of her hand ached a bit, though she didn't know why. 

            Wait a minute… that scar had disappeared earlier. Why was it back? And why did it hurt? 

            She shook her hand as if that would make it feel better, and examined the scar. It was pink, as if it had healed recently, but was still tender to the touch and had not yet begun to fade… Interesting. 

            She still wore the white shirt and pants she'd had on so she couldn't have slept _that_ long. She looked to the window. The sunlight was very bright, and judging from the angle, it was probably no later than two pm.

             She finally looked around and found the blonde haired man sitting on the same chair from earlier, though this time he was at least sitting _in_ it, not _on top of_ it. She gave him a perplexed look, and glanced about the room. This obviously wasn't her room, so where was sh…

            _Ooh…_ she gasped. 

            She remembered suddenly, and sat straight up, recoiling towards the edge of the bed, away from the man. 

            "Get out!" she screamed. He'd caused her enough heartache and pain over the years; she certainly didn't want to see him, whether or not _she_ was in _his_ house. 

            He arched an eyebrow in surprise. "Oh, you remember me again?" He looked at how precariously close she was to the edge of the bed, and shook his head. "Tsk, tsk. I thought by now you would have trusted me." 

            Why did he have to be so antagonistic? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? She held her hand to her stomach. The scar tissue on her palm had been painfully stretched when she'd moved to the edge of the bed so quickly. 

            In a heartbeat, Jareth was at her side, took her hand in his gloved one, and inspected it. 

            "Oww!" She yelled when he prodded the wound too hard. "It's still tender." She tried to pull her hand back from his grasp, but he still held it too tightly. He looked up from the scar and found her eyes. 

            "How did you injure your hand?"

            Sarah paused. Lord, you could get lost in that man's eyes… She shook her head. Where did that come from? 

            "A neighbor's cat scratched me when I was thirty-six or so." She scrunched her face up. "Why?"

            He mumbled something incoherently, then more clearly, "damn."

            Though her memory wasn't as good as it used to be, Sarah couldn't recall ever seeing Jareth with a troubled look on his face. 

            "What's wrong?"

            He glanced up at her then focused again on her hand. He remained silent as he began moving his fingertips carefully over the sore skin, gently and rhythmically massaging the area. 

            Sarah felt the tenseness lessen and the pain disappear as he finished his ministrations. 

            "There." He said, and relinquished her hand. "That takes care of one problem."

            She looked down at her hand. The pain was completely gone, and a small, almost crescent-shaped, pale mark had replaced the scar. She looked back up at Jareth. He was staring off at a corner of the room, deep in thought. 

            Jareth frowned. At some point after she'd fainted, while she was sleeping, the scar on her hand had appeared. What bothered him was the fact that it shouldn't have- when he'd brought her to the Underground, his spell should have stopped her from aging past thirty…

            He distantly heard her asking a question. 

            "I'm sorry?" He turned to face her. He had really been lost in thought. 

            "I asked what the other problem was." He didn't say anything so she continued. "I think you said," she scrunched her face up slightly, and repeated, "'There, that takes care of one problem.'"

            He nodded his understanding and standing up, held out one hand towards her.

            She looked at it as if it was a poisonous snake that would strike at any second.

            He sighed and held out his hand again. "You wish to know what the problem is, correct?" She nodded. "Then you must come with me."

            She'd been asleep twice now, with him in the room, and he had not done anything. Hopefully that was a good sign; he wasn't planning on dropping her into an oubliette or something. 

            She made a face, then resolutely put her hand in his. "Alright."

            *****

            The trip he took her on, surprisingly, was short. Out of the bedroom, down a hallway and around a couple corners, and to another room. He opened the door to a dark room and motioned for her to enter first. 

            She peered in the doorway, trying to discern what was inside, until Jareth cleared his throat. She looked at him, a touch annoyed, then walked inside a few feet. 

            Jareth entered the room after her and closed the door behind him, plunging them in complete darkness.

            Sarah held still- she didn't know what was in this room and didn't want to trip over anything- and closed her eyes to let them adjust quicker. 

            With her eyes closed, she depended more on her other senses. She heard Jareth doing something with a small metallic object, and felt the air stir as he walked by her. _He_ obviously knew this room well enough; it seemed like he didn't even need a light to see by. 

            Jareth lifted the crescent-shaped pendant from his neck and pulled it over his head. He walked past Sarah, where she stood with her eyes closed for some reason, and strode to the large, free-standing mirror in the corner of the room.

            Sarah, deciding she'd given her eyes enough time to adjust, opened them. She had a moment of panic when she found she still couldn't see anything, but Jareth reassured her. 

            "This is a storage room. Many of the items in here are damaged by excess light, so there is a spell to keep this room dark, until I perform a rather lengthy spell to counter it." He laughed softly. "Just give me a minute and I'll have some light. I don't need it, but I'd forgotten how poor a mortal's vision is."

            He carefully placed his pendant in the similarly-shaped, recessed area of the mirror, and turned it. A faint blue glow appeared in the center of the mirror, just bright enough for Sarah to make out Jareth's features in the ethereal light. He seemed even paler than normal; almost sickly looking.

            Jareth put his hands on Sarah's shoulders and positioned her in front of him, facing the mirror. 

            "Show this girl what should not be," he said clearly, his accent emphasized on 'girl.'

            The mirror flashed, blinding Sarah with its dazzling blue light. She jumped and covered her eyes. Was it supposed to do that?

            She felt Jareth's fingers squeeze her shoulders gently. "It's alright," he said. "Look."

            Sarah brought her hands down and looked at the mirror. It showed her as she'd seen herself earlier in the bedroom mirror; slender, skinny, and young. About twenty-five, she'd guessed. 

            "This was how you looked this morning," she heard Jareth saying.

            The mirror flashed again; now it showed her around age thirty-five. She was no longer quite as slender, and the scar on her hand was gone, but a crescent-shaped mark replaced it.

            "At lunch…"

            Another flash, quicker. Sarah had gray hair and a fuller figure. Another crescent shape appeared on her pinky- she'd had a tumor removed at fifty. 

            "How you will look in a short while…"

            The mirror flashed again, even faster and brighter than before. Sarah's hair became thinner and wrinkles appeared on her face. It flashed again, brighter this time. 

            Like a strobe light she couldn't tear her eyes from, Sarah watched herself age from twenty-five to eighty in the space of a few heartbeats. 

            Sarah let out a scream and covered her face from the sight.

            "Enough!" At Jareth's command, the mirror went dormant and plunged the room into darkness once again. His hands still rested on Sarah's shoulders, and he could feel her shaking uncontrollably through the contact. 

            Jareth wrapped both arms around her and pulled her closer to him. For Sarah to see herself wasting away before her very eyes, to see her youthful beauty and vitality wither away to dust…He couldn't imagine what it was like to come face to face with your own mortality; to know that one day you will simply stop existing.

            Gradually he felt Sarah's trembling lessen, then stop altogether. He brought one hand up and brushed a lock of hair that had fallen in her face behind her ear. He bent his head forward slightly and softly whispered in her ear. 

            "Now do you see my problem, dear girl?"

            She nodded, then pulled away from his embrace. 

            She'd been almost eighty-three that morning, so why did it shock her to see herself aging in the mirror? It was a miracle she was young right now…

            No, she thought, and turned around. It wasn't a miracle… It was Jareth.

            But why? Why would he bring her to his castle, attempt to make her permanently young again, only to fail, then tell her she'd have to make a life-changing decision?

            A flicker of light briefly lit the room, almost went out, then steadied and regained brightness. Jareth held a small crystal in his hand. 

            He brought his pendant over his head and back to its rightful place against his bare chest, then held the crystal out to Sarah and placed it in her hand. 

            "You may need this." He looked up from the crystal to Sarah. 

            "If you need light, it will glow for you. If you wish to see something, it will show you."

            _It will show you your dreams…_

            "All you need do is ask," Jareth finished saying.

            Sarah's eyes were unfocused, as if she were thinking about something. She looked back up at Jareth.

            "Can I ask you something?"

            Jareth nodded. "Of course you can, Sarah."

            She remained silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase her question. There was no good way to do so. 

            She looked at the crystal in her hand again, and the now crescent-shaped scar on her palm. 

            "Why?" she finally blurted out.

            Jareth misunderstood her. "You see, it all has to do with the magic of myself and the land." Sarah looked confused. "Well, as king, I draw power from the land, and transfer it to my crystals. That way, they will glow or…"

            Sarah shook her head and interrupted. "No, no. I mean…" she cut her words off and looked down at her hand again.

            Jareth had learned long ago that Sarah was not a woman you push. He waited, silent, for her to continue.

            Why did he do it? Sarah wondered. Did he only wish to exact his revenge on her? Make her run the Labyrinth again? But how could he? Toby was dead.

            She gasped and her eyes went wide. He'd take _Heather_ and make Sarah save _her_ this time! She looked up at Jareth with malice in her eyes. 

            "Don't you _dare_ hurt my family!" she yelled, backing away from him. "Don't you dare!" She suddenly grabbed her hand and cried out in pain. Her pinky hurt very badly. She didn't need to look in the mirror to know that her face had a few more wrinkles and her hair was a little grayer. She was now fifty. 

            As before, Jareth was at her side in an instant, and took her hand in his. This time however, Sarah wrestled her hand away from him. 

            "No!" she said, and backed away from him again, towards a corner of the room. "You're not hurting me or my family anymore!" Her eyes were frightened. "You've done enough to us!" She sobbed and turned her back to him. 

            Jareth didn't know what prompted that outburst, but he had to stop any doubts she had now. Fear tended to grow and fester into something more. 

            "Sarah, what's in the past I cannot change," he said calmly and quietly, "but since you've been here, I have done nothing to harm you _or_ your family." Sarah didn't move. He sighed. 

            "Sarah, I've healed your hand once already for you," he saw her head dip as she looked at the new scar, "and I must heal your pinky now. At the rate you're aging, it's best to take that tumor out _now_ before it becomes something worse."

            Sarah slowly turned around to face him. Wet streaks ran down her face from where she'd been crying. 

            "You _swear_ you won't hurt my family." She demanded. 

            Would this mortal woman ever trust him? Jareth wondered, but was careful not to show annoyance. 

            "I swear on my honor as King," he said formally and placed his hand over his pendant, "that I will not harm yourself or your family." He dropped the formality. "Sarah, it was never my intention in bringing you here to hurt you." He shook his head. "Never."

            Sarah wiped the tears from her cheeks. 

            "Alright…" she said sullenly and looked down at her hand.

            Jareth wasn't going to make her ask. "May I see your hand now, please?" he held out his own towards her. "Then we can talk."

            Sarah slowly nodded, and meeting his eyes, placed her hand in his. He carefully massaged her hand again, and paused when she jumped. 

            "It hurts a little bit," she lied. Actually, it hurt like hell, though it wasn't Jareth's fault. The surgery she'd had hurt worse. "Keep going. It's ok."

            He nodded and continued, his fingers moving even more gently over her skin than before. After a few minutes, he was done, and emblazoned on Sarah's skin was another crescent-shaped scar. 

            Sarah met Jareth's eyes, blushed, and looked away. "Thank you," she murmured. 

            "You're welcome," he replied, pleased by her manners and curious as to what caused her to blush. After a few moments, when Sarah said nothing more, Jareth spoke again.

            "Would you like to hear me out now?" he asked. 

            Sarah looked back up at him and nodded. 

            "Yes," she said. "I'm very curious as to why I'm here. Again."

            Jareth nodded and held out an arm. 

            "Shall we?"

            She placed her hand on his arm lightly, without any hesitation, and accepted his offer. 

            "We shall," she replied and laughed softly. 

            As Jareth led her to the door, Sarah held out the crystal he'd given her to see by. 

            "Now, you must remember- this is a big decision and not one to be taken lightly," he told her. "I do not want an answer right away… I want you to take your time and think about it."

            He opened the door and let her exit first, then followed her out. 

            "Mainly, Sarah, I've brought you here to…" 

            He shut the door behind him, cutting off his words and plunging the room into darkness once again. 

            *****

Agh… don't yell at me! I know it's a cliffhanger, but I  promise, next chapter you'll find out why Jareth has brought her to the castle!


	6. Santa Claus and mysterious oranges

Alright, alright, I _know_ you all hate cliffhangers, but they're so fun, aren't they? *laughs evilly* 

Sorry it's taken me so long to post the next chapter, but we just got hit by a 'really bad' snow storm and that has put a cramp on my whole schedule. (I say 'really bad' in quotes because I'm from the north- the amount of snow was nothing, people here just aren't prepared to deal with it.) Really though, I am working as hard as I can on getting the next chapter written, and though I hate to say it, there may not be much more than two more chapters left to the story! Argh! Don't worry though, I presently have at least three different, really good story ideas I'm thinking about, I just have to pick which one to write first! It's so hard!

Lastly, **thanks to:** everyone who's checked out my other story so far, **Emer**, **Winter** (no, don't sick the goblins on me! I'll post more soon as I can!), **terrie **(ann arbor? not too far from where I lived), **Jenny** (kill me? eep!), **Kris**, **Phoenix Flight** (writing.more. don't. worry.), **Ldechols** (Clara- thankyou. Chapters are on the way), **BeyondWords**, and last but not least, **Xelena** (no, you said that right! hehe, *wink*).

Alright, I'll shut up now. Here's the story. ^.-

Andrea

            Chapter 6: Santa Claus and mysterious oranges.

            Sarah's attention wandered from what Jareth was saying as they stepped out of the room and into the hallway. It was already past sunset, she saw from looking out the window. 

            The sun had disappeared and the sky was mostly blue, though the horizon still had some remnants of red and orange. 

            A last hint of beauty before nightfall, she thought. 

            "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Jareth said, turning his attention to the window. 

            She nodded dumbly. 

            "As soon as I stepped out of that room I…" she looked at him, guiltily, "I forgot about what you were saying."

            He smiled. "It's alright. The sunsets here seem to have that effect on people." His smile faded. She knew he was referring to the years he'd spent staring out his bedroom window, every morning and every night, trying to forget her, yet still wondering if he'd ever see her again. 

            Sarah's stomach rumbled, interrupting their thoughts. Both of them looked down at her stomach, which protested its lack of food once more, and laughed. 

            "Perhaps we should talk over dinner?" Jareth said, his tone and face serious though his eyes danced with amusement. 

            Sarah opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by her stomach. 

            "Gurrup," it rumbled one last time. Sarah turned red and continued. 

            "I think all three of us are agreed."

            *****

            Sarah again found herself sitting at the large mahogany table she had admired earlier that morning. Jareth sat across from her. The dishes and silverware were laid out before them, but Jareth seemed to be waiting for something. 

            She turned her attention to the large windows set along one wall. Outside, the red and orange clouds had disappeared, and the sky was a solid dark blue. The stars, if there were any Underground, had yet to appear.

            Finally, the something Jareth was waiting on appeared. Sarah heard the door open and turned her head to see a short, stout man enter the room. He sported white hair, matching beard and mustache, and an ebullient face. He was dressed in white pants, a white button-down overcoat, and a hat of sorts. All were splashed with small spots and smears of color. 

            He looked familiar in some way, though Sarah couldn't think how. She decided she liked him though. 

            He walked up to Jareth and bowed. 

            "M'lord."

             He then turned his attention to Sarah. 

            "M'lady." 

            He looked back at Jareth and scowled. 

            "You never told me we had visitors." he said with a slight accent. His was different from Jareth's, she noted. He sounded… French? The man continued ranting. 

            "I would have changed into something nicer!" he looked down in mock disgust at what he wore. It was then that Sarah realized the spots of color were stains. He was a cook. 

            Smiling, Jareth shook his head. 

            "Sarah, I'd like to introduce you to Nicholas. He is undoubtedly the biggest windbag in all the Underground, but you'll never find a better chef."

            "And when did this lovely peach arrive?" Nicholas smiled down at her.

            Sarah quickly looked at Jareth who shook his head. Nicholas knew nothing of their past. The peach comment was completely innocent. 

            "Early this morning," Jareth spoke up for her. 

            Nicholas turned to Jareth again. "Then the poor lady has had nothing to eat all day?!"

            Sarah shook her head. "No, we had breakfast."

            Jareth smiled slightly. "Yes… it appears that Sarah here really loves fruit. You should have seen how much she ate earlier." He looked at her though he still spoke to Nicholas. "I thought she'd eat our entire winter reserves…"

            Sarah felt awful. Had she eaten too much? Was he mad at her? Jareth caught her eye again and winked.

            "Well," Nicholas continued, "since _Jareth_ somehow managed to make you breakfast, _I_ shall make you a real meal." He looked at Sarah. "Would you like anything in particular?"

            She thought for a minute. "Umm… could you make spaghetti?"

            The chef looked confused. "Spaghetti?"

            She shook her head. "Yeah. Tomatoes, noodles…"

            Both men looked at her as if she were speaking in tongues. 

            "Nevermind. I'll have whatever Jareth's having."

            Nicholas nodded and turned to Jareth. 

            "M'lord?"

            Jareth thought for a moment, and frowned. He had no idea what tastes Sarah liked or disliked. Finally, he looked back up at Nicholas. 

            "Yes, how about some parmesana? With aubergines?"

            The chef nodded and started to leave, but Jareth called him again. 

            "Nicholas, could you also bring us some bloody oranges and an alligator fruit or two? I think Sarah would like those."

            He nodded and left. 

            Jareth looked back up to Sarah. "Alright. From the beginning…"

            Sarah smiled. 

            "First, clear up the aging thing for me one more time."

            He nodded. 

            "You were almost eighty-three years old when I brought you here. I used the labyrinth's magic to make you about twenty-five, physically. You retained all of your memories from your old life; no amount of magic in the labyrinth could get rid of those, but your body changed." He took a drink of water from his glass and continued. 

            "When your scar appeared, I soon realized that you were still aging. That shouldn't have happened- you should have aged to about thirty, and no further."

            Sarah laughed. "Thirty and holding. Every woman's dream."

            Jareth looked puzzled. 

            "Nevermind." She shook her head.

            Ok, She knew why she was aging now… but still not why she was here in the first place. 

            Just then, Nicholas walked back out, pushing a small cart laden with covered silver platters. 

            That was fast, Sarah thought. She didn't know how much, if anything, the chef knew about her, so she decided it best to hold the questions for the time being. 

            With a flourish, Nicholas set their plates down in front of them, and a bowl in front of Jareth. 

            "Enjoy," he said, bowed slightly, and left.

            Sarah lifted the cover on her plate and peered at what was underneath. Something big and lumpy, covered in a sauce. She made a face. 

            "What _is_ this?" she asked. 

            Jareth laughed. 

            "It's called 'aubergine parmesana," he replied. Sarah nodded.

            "I know that, I heard you say that when you ordered for us, but _what is it_?"

            Jareth thought for a moment. 

            "I don't know if they have them Aboveworld, but mainly it consists of aubergines- chicken plants' fruit- and the sauce is made from a red fruit we grow, called a tomato."

            "Tomatoes we have back home, but a chicken plant?"

            Jareth nodded. "Do you still have the crystal?"

            Sarah pulled it out of her pants pocket and showed it to him.

            "Well, ask it, and you'll see what I mean."

            She looked down at the crystal. Did you have to shake it like that Magic 8 ball she'd had as a kid? 

            She decided not. 

            "Show me a chicken plant," she said, then quickly added "please."

            The ball didn't glow or anything like the mirror, but a picture suddenly appeared within the clear globe. 

            "It's an eggplant!" she said and looked up at Jareth. He gave her a quizzical look. 

            "It is interesting that you call them 'eggplants' when the plant itself bears eggs as a fowl would."

            Sarah shrugged. "I didn't name them. I like 'chicken plant' better anyways. And what did you call the fruits? Awwber…?" she stumbled on the word. 

            "Aubergines."

            She nodded. Aubergines, aubergines, aubergines. She wouldn't forget that. 

            Seeing that Jareth had picked up a fork, she did the same, and started eating. 

            "What are those?" she asked, and looked at the bowl Nicholas had set down by Jareth. It was full of roundish objects, but she couldn't tell what. 

            He picked up two objects from the bowl and tossed one of them to her. 

            "This is an alligator fruit," he told her.

            Sarah looked at the fruit. It was ovoid-shaped, somewhat scaly to the touch, and so dark green it almost appeared black. She smiled. 

            "We have those, but we call them 'avacados.' I don't really eat them plain."

            He nodded and tossed her the other object. She knew what it was as soon as she saw the orange color arc in the air. She caught it and looked at Jareth. 

            "Easy. This is an orange. We have those too."

            "But it isn't just _any_ orange," he said, shaking his head. He picked up another out of the bowl and deftly cut it in half while he still held it. 

            Sarah saw a flash of dark red between his fingers and gasped. 

            "You've cut yourself! Are you okay?"

            He slowly set down the knife and looked at Sarah again. 

            "We call them by their name for a reason," he said, and held up half of the orange. "It's a blood orange."

            Sarah couldn't believe it. His orange section was a bright, dark red, shot through with a bit of purple. Juice still ran down his fingers. He hadn't cut himself after all. 

            He saw her astonishment and grinned in his Cheshire-cat way. 

            Sarah just shook her head at him and kept eating. 

            *****

            After they'd finished eating, Nicholas cleared their dishes and left them alone at the table. Jareth could tell that Sarah was dying to ask the questions she had refrained from asking earlier in the cook's presence. 

            "Alright, so why did you bring me here?" she asked, launching into questions as soon as Nicholas left. 

            Jareth smiled. "Anxious, aren't we?"

            "No," she glared at him, "just tired of waiting."

            "_Well_," he said seriously. "I _had_ told you earlier. It wasn't my fault you weren't paying attention."

            She started a tart reply before realizing that Jareth was grinning, ear to ear. That jerk never could resist baiting her. 

            She stuck out her tongue at him then crossed her arms on her chest and waited for his answer. He laughed. 

            "Alright, alright. Stop with that face or you'll end up scaring all the mice in the castle away. What else would my goblins eat?" He took another sip of water from his glass and continued, his manner serious this time.

            "Sarah, I brought you here to save you."

            Sarah frowned. "Save me? From what? Endless nights of doing boring word searches?" she joked. 

            He sighed, then softly said "dying."

            What? She'd been a very healthy woman when Jareth had plucked her from her bedroom. Old, but healthy. Why, with all the medical advances in her lifetime, it wasn't uncommon for people to live into their ninth and tenth decades. She told Jareth that. He listened, but shook his head when she finished. 

            "Think of how much harder it has become for you to walk, even over the last five years…" 

            Sarah realized it had, but that was just her joints acting up. It wasn't anything serious. Jareth continued. 

            "And your arthritis… it has pained you, constantly, for the last three years. Even your drugs no longer help."

            It was true, they didn't…

            "But Jareth, that's no reason to think I'm…"

            "Sarah," he interrupted, "do not patronize me." His voice grew harder. "You've managed to keep your symptoms hidden from your daughter and granddaughter, but you've not fooled me." 

            She stared blankly at him; she had no idea what he was talking about. 

            "Six months ago you were at home, peacefully reading a book in your favorite chair, when you were struck with severe chest pains." He watched her face to see if this was coming back to her yet. 

            "You saw a doctor about a week later and he dismissed it as a minor condition. It happened a few more times over the next months, but not enough to make you really worry." Jareth looked her square in the eyes. She remembered what he was talking about. 

            "You have a condition known as Prinzmetal's angina. The heart arteries spasm, causing the pain in your chest, back, and arm." He paused until she looked up and met his eyes. 

            "Sarah," he continued softly, "you would have died from a massive heart attack within a week if I had not brought you here."

            Sarah sat in shock for a moment, silent. She would have been dead in a week? What if it had happened while the girls were over? Dawn would be motherless, alone. And Heather, only eight years old, would have no gramma to read to on the weekends. Sarah had no other family members still living. 

            A tear welled up in her eye and she wiped it away. She looked back up at Jareth. 

            "Will it still happen? Why would bringing me here help matters any?"

            Jareth produced a small crystal in his hand. 

            "Remember how I told you earlier that, as king, I can draw power from the Labyrinth and use it? One of the powers I can draw is a regenerative power- healing." She nodded. "If you were to stay here, the Labyrinth would accept you as one of its own and heal you permanently. However, one of the side effects of the magic on mortals is longevity." She looked up at him. "You would be nearly immortal."

            Sarah took a few deep breaths. This was a lot to think about. The immortal part sounded ok, as did the healing… but would she be immortal at the ripe old age of eighty-three? She asked Jareth. 

            "No," he said, and shook his head. "Once the Labyrinth healed you, you would stay at one physical age. Much like how I tried to keep you thirty."

            Ok, she wouldn't be stuck an old granny for eternity… that was a start. She had one more question though. 

            "Since you were able to bring Toby here, and myself twice…"

            Jareth knew what she was going to ask before she finished the question. Mentally cringing inside, he nodded for her to continue. 

            "…that means you could bring Dawn and Heather here to visit me on weekends, if I stayed, right?"

            He reached for his glass of water, noticed that his hand were shaking, and put it back down. He had hoped she wouldn't have asked _that_ particular question yet. He still had more explaining to do. He finally met her eyes.

            "No, Sarah…" he said softly. "If you stayed here, your life past the age of twenty-five would never have happened…" he paused. "There would _be_ no Dawn or Heather to bring here…"

            *****

Ok, so did I answer one more question for everyone? Yes? Good. Now stop bugging me as to why he brought her to the castle. *Laughs*

One more note; I am pleased to say that the dinner conversation actually has a grain of truth behind it. Eggplants really are called aubergines, and avocados are called alligator fruits. Maybe not so much here in the States, but elsewhere they are. 

One more last note: the blood oranges? I didn't make those up either! Check out your grocery stores for them, they're called Moro blood oranges. They usually have a nice red blush on the outside of the skin, and don't freak when you peel them- they will look almost black inside. (Hold one segment up to the light- they are a beautiful orange at one end, pink in the middle, and purple at the other end). They really are wonderful, so don't be afraid to give one a shot. You'll want a larger one that feels heavy, and doesn't feel mushy when you squeeze it. Also, they have a slight raspberry aftertaste. 

Alright, there's my two cents on the oranges and whatnot, hope everyone liked the story. I'll be starting the next chapter now, and hopefully soon it will be posted! (Remember, I still love comments! hehe)


	7. Eavesdropping, avocados, and a minor dis...

Alright… hope you enjoyed the last chapter, here is the new one finally! Sorry it took so long, but this chapter just did _not_ want to be written. Had to wrestle it for a few days before I could tackle it onto the paper. 

I'm in a bit of a rush today, so I can't respond to each individual review, but **thanks** to everyone I left out!  

**Thanks: Cormak **(Corrie! Hiya sweetie! A compliment from you means a lot, thankyou! And keep working on your story too!), **terrie** (I lived in Cadillac and Tustin), **Jenny** (me? cruel? hehe.. *grin*), and **Kitty** (how are you confoozed?).

Andrea

            Chapter 7: Eavesdropping, avocados, and a minor dispute. 

            Jareth's voice echoed in her mind. Her life past twenty-five wouldn't have ever happened? She wouldn't have met Jake, gotten married and later been blessed with a beautiful, healthy baby girl? And that sweet child would never have grown up, giving her an adorable grandchild? It just couldn't be true.

            Dumbfounded, Sarah could only sit and stare at Jareth. 

            He sat in silence and waited for her to say or do something; _any_ reply would be better than the uncomfortable silence he was enduring now. It was like seeing lightning in the distance and waiting for the storm to break.

            Sarah's forehead creased as she thought. She could save herself by denying her own child and grandchild the very gift she'd given them- life. Although she wouldn't be _killing_ them, theoretically, she would still be the reason they no longer existed, and the thought made her sick. It seemed too much like she would be erasing them, smudging them out like a mistake on the timeline of her life. 

            Jareth watched Sarah's face as she sat across from him. Several emotions crossed her face; some identifiable, others not. 

            When she wiped a tear from her eye and looked up at Jareth, he could tell which emotion had won the battle- the one he'd hoped wouldn't. 

            "You bastard," she said quietly, coldly. 

            He raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected _quite_ that. 

            "Oh, don't look at me like that!" she said, her voice raising hysterically. "You told me it was never your intention to hurt my family! And now you're asking for my permission to kill them!" She stood up from her chair and started pacing the floor a few feet from the table. He opened his mouth to argue but she kept talking. 

            "You know, I was actually beginning to trust you…" she snorted. "You healed my hand for me, twice actually, treated me as an equal, and did not try to take advantage of me when I was sleeping, which was a surprise in itself." She shook her head. "I should have known all you wanted was revenge." She kept walking back and forth on the carpets but was silent, so Jareth took this opportunity to tell his side. 

            "Sarah, I am not seeking revenge for the past, nor am I here to hurt your family." She kept pacing, shaking her head as if denying everything he said. "If you decided to let the labyrinth heal you, you would _live._ Don't you want that?" he asked her.

            She stopped pacing and looked at him. "At the cost of my daughter and granddaughter?!" she yelled. "How dare you make me choose between myself and them! Evidently you aren't a parent yourself or you'd know my answer!"

            That remark evidently hit home, because a hurt look crossed his face. Under different circumstances, Sarah may have felt some degree of regret for her harsh words towards Jareth, but at the moment her mind was in turmoil, and she allowed herself the luxury of not caring. 

            As Sarah continued ranting to no one in particular, he stood up from the table and strode to the large windows, turning his back to her. Outside, the sky was black and the waxing moon had risen. One or two stars shattered the dark like diamonds sparkling in the distance. The window glass reflected the image of the clock behind him; 10:17 it read. He knew by 11:30 the night sky would resemble a field full of firebugs in the summer for all the stars.

            Gods, how many nights had he spent, standing as he was now, watching the sky and thinking of Sarah, wandering if he'd see her again? And now, when she finally stood there in his dining hall, she would not speak to him. He'd tried telling her earlier how he felt, standing in front of this very window, but she had not understood. He didn't know if she currently felt anything for him, if she ever had, or if she could grow to love him if she stayed. 

            He heard her voice rise in volume and intensity once again, and ducked as an alligator fruit went flying past him. He caught the second one before it hit him.

            "You aren't even listening!" she shouted.

            He looked at the fruit splattered on the wall behind him, then the other one in his hand. He grimaced. Perhaps it was time for the Goblin King she first knew to reappear. 

            "You're right," he replied, his voice growing hard. "I'm not." He set the fruit down on the table and advanced towards her slowly, menacingly. "But I am sick of your behavior." He met her brown eyes. "I brought you here expecting you to hear me out fully and calmly, carefully weigh your options, then allow me to help you." He kept walking forward, and she took a step back. This was not the same man she'd just thrown an avocado at. 

            "You just brought me here to get me to trust you, then stab me in the back and kill my family." She still held her head high, but her eyes held a bit of nervousness and her voice betrayed her. She wondered if he might still throw her in an oubliette. She backed up a bit further away from Jareth and felt the wall behind her, trapping her where she stood. She looked back up at him with fear in her eyes. 

            Though he could not allow his mask of irritation and anger to change, he smiled inwardly. She would take him seriously now, and perhaps they would actually get something accomplished. He softened his voice and continued. 

            "Sarah," he said, placing one hand on her cheek, "I want you to realize that if you stayed here, you would want for nothing. Your dreams, anything you wished for, would be yours. If you wanted me to, I could use the labyrinth's magic to create a crystal for you… A special crystal." He paused, then continued. 

            "It would show you Dawn and Heather as they would be if you had stayed Aboveworld." He watched her eyes grow wide. "It would be an illusion because they would have never been born, but it would still allow you contact with them." He brought his hand down and rested it on her shoulder, continuing before she could answer. 

            "Now, I want you to go and rest," he said. "Think about everything I've told you. If you make a decision, your crystal will show you the way back here. I will be awaiting your decision and ready to heal you, or send you home to your family."

            He closed his eyes and concentrated. Sarah saw the room around her shimmer then disappear. She reappeared in the bedroom she'd slept in earlier. Flopping down on the bed, she lay down and sighed. This was going to be a long night. 

            *****

            A soft knock on the door startled Jareth. 

            "Sarah better not have made her decision already or I shall be most upset," he muttered under his breath. 

            "Come in," he said wearily. He was surprised when the chef entered. Nicholas cleared his throat and walked forward. 

            "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I overheard you and the lady fighting…"

            "We weren't fighting. It was a minor dispute." Jareth corrected him. 

            "Right…" he said, eyeing the squashed alligator fruit on the wall behind Jareth. "But if you don't mind me asking, what was the… 'discussion'… about?"

            Jareth sighed and sat back down at the table, running his fingers through his hair in frustration. 

            "Sarah has a condition from which she will surely die if not treated, and soon. I am trying to persuade her to stay here and be healed, but she does not wish to leave her family." A bit of an understatement, but Nicholas didn't need to know more. 

            "And she was quite adamant about it? She knows she will surely die?"

            Jareth nodded. 

            "Well…why not bring her family here also?" the chef reasoned. 

            "It's not something that easily done," Jareth sighed, shaking his head. Nicholas noticed the expression on his face. 

            "You love her very much, don't you?" he asked softly. Jareth froze, then slowly nodded. 

            "More than I think she knows or will ever realize," he admitted. "The only thing that has kept me going for almost seventy years was the hope that I might see her again." He looked down at his hands. "And now she's here and I'm going to lose her." The chef frowned. He had not known she meant _that_ much to him. Jareth certainly could hide his emotions very well at times. 

            "Have you told her how much she means to you? Surely that would sway her mind…" he offered. 

            "I tried telling her earlier, but I don't think she realized I was speaking about her…" Jareth shook his head. "Right now she may not even talk to me."

            Nicholas sighed. "M'lord, if you truly love this girl, you _must_ tell her how you feel." He saw Jareth shaking his head, admitting defeat before he even tried. That was not at all like the Goblin King he knew. This man needed to wake up! 

            "Jareth, she could be making her mind up right now as we speak!" he bellowed. "Would you have her leave without knowing how you feel, and kick yourself for eternity because you've lost the only woman you've ever truly loved?"

            Jareth stared at him, his mouth slightly open. How did he know? He'd brought many women to the castle before…

            "Aye, I do realize you've had the lady visitors before, but with them you are arrogant, self-assured…" Nicholas paused, afraid he may be overstepping his boundaries with the King, whether or not he was also his friend and chef. Jareth nodded for him to continue. 

            "…But with Sarah, you are more unsure of yourself; you're vulnerable. The Goblin King doesn't let his guard down for just anyone…" 

            Nicholas lifted his shirt sleeve and looked at his bare wrist. "Wow, look at the time," he said, his eyes widening. "I'd better be off… dishes to do and all." He stood up and strode to the door, then paused just before he opened it.

            "Jareth?" He looked up at Nicholas. "Don't let this one get away without a fight. At least _try_. Tell her how you feel." Jareth nodded, and the chef left.

            *****

            _"Would you have her leave without knowing how you feel, and kick yourself for eternity because you've lost the only woman you've ever truly loved?"_

The crystal ball slipped from Sarah's fingers and fell to the floor, landing with a dull _thud_. 

            *****


	8. Tick tock, tick tock, and all a ruse

Alright, sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. My fiancé was sick last week so I had to help take care of him, which put a cramp on any writing time I would have had. It would have been up yesterday, except ff.net kept giving me error messages. Server down maybe? 

Also, I refer to a 'goddess moon' in this chapter. I pulled that from an ancient Irish belief that the moon has three stages; a waxing moon, a full moon, and a waning moon,  all of which were women. 

**Thanks to everyone who's stuck with me and followed my story. **I only have two replies because I'm rather hurried at the moment. **Jenny:** Sarah heard all of the conversation up until she dropped the ball, and **lizz:** aww, don't cry! We'll see what Jareth says!

Anywho, here it is. Hope you enjoy. 

Andrea

            Chapter 8: Tick tock, tick tock, and all a ruse. 

            Jareth paced the floor of the dining hall in frustration. It was 12:27; Sarah had been in her room for a few hours now and he'd not heard a peep from her. While he normally would have considered the silence a pleasant change from earlier, he knew she had been aging rapidly over the past few hours. Every minute the clock ticked by was another minute lost. Another minute less that he had with her, unless she chose to stay.

            He glanced outside; anything to take his mind off Sarah. The sky was pitch black and so thick with stars it illuminated the valley below. The waxing moon had risen to its' full height, and he could see the silhouette of the goddess, almost as if she were reveling in the glory of this beautiful new night. 

            He sighed. Sarah herself was very much like the goddess moon of the old tales. She was beautiful, confident in herself, and as his mind wandered back to that first glimpse of her in that silk nightgown, a new word to describe her sprang to mind. _Curvaceous._

            Gods, but that woman was a gorgeous creature. While he knew a great deal of his attraction to Sarah was physical, he also knew it was more than that. He'd been with countless women in his time and had never felt this way about any of them. 

            No… Sarah was different. She'd stood up to him years ago, determinedly fighting for her brother when others would have given up. She had a flash of intellect and a spark in her eye that even eighty years of hardship and loss had not dulled. 

            He'd known long ago that he loved Sarah, but it wasn't until Nicholas had asked if he did that Jareth had admitted it outright. He knew he had to tell Sarah how he felt… but how? Walk right up to her and kiss her hand while professing his feelings? Sweep her off her feet and take her to his bedchambers as he'd longed to from the first moment he'd seen her in that nightgown? 

            Hardly.

            He would have to sit her down and explain it to her, word for word. He longed to tell her and get everything out in the open, but the very thought of it made his stomach turn. How was it that this one mortal woman could unsettle him so?

            Jareth stole another furtive glance at the clock. 12:32. Where was she? He supposed it could be a good sign if she hadn't decided yet; that at least meant she was still considering staying… but on the other hand, she _had_ been aging fast… what if she'd fallen and hurt herself, or worse, had a heart attack? He continued pacing, nervously.

            *****

            Sarah stared at the crystal where it had fallen on the plush carpet by her foot and tried to ignore her furiously beating heart. 

            Jareth _loved_ her? How? She vaguely remembered him saying something earlier in the dining room, but she hadn't thought he was talking about her. She guessed she'd never put two and two together. 

            Sarah thought about him for a moment. Everything about Jareth; his oddly colored eyes, that devilish smile, his beautifully sculpted face, and especially his long, sinewy body screamed sexuality at her. She would be lying outright if she said she weren't attracted to him, but was there anything other than attraction?

            She'd remembered Jareth as an arrogant, manipulative bully, and though he'd acted that way towards her at first, she now realized it was all a ruse. He'd let his guard down around her, and opened up about how he'd really felt when she had left the labyrinth. 

            How _he_ felt? How she felt as well. Sarah knew that through the course of one day Jareth had gone from a feared, arrogant enemy to an equal, and to an extent, a friend. She was beginning to realize that their friendship could develop into something more if she stayed. 

            She sighed. She had been close to making her decision, but now she would have to rethink everything. 

            Since he'd evidently tried to tell her how he felt earlier, why didn't he just tell her now? Be honest and get everything out in the open? Should she just walk up to him and ask him how he felt about her? 

            No. Definitely not. 

            Jareth didn't know she knew…if he asked why she decided to stay, what would she say? She was spying on him and heard everything? Even the chef had seemed like he was censoring what he said to Jareth, so how would he react if he learned that a mere mortal woman had been spying on him? 

            Sarah paced the carpet in the bedroom. She would wait to see if he said anything and act surprised, or continue on as if she'd never heard the conversation and stick with her decision. 

            For now, she decided, the ball was in Jareth's court. 

            *****

            Jareth frantically inspected the clock again. 12:46. Where was she?? At the rate she'd been aging… He did some quick calculations in his head and gasped. She would nearly be her normal age by now. He was really becoming worried. Could something have happened to her?

            He chastised himself. He couldn't just go barging into her bedroom because he was worrying about her, she'd think he was a complete idiot. 

            On the other hand… it was his castle, and as King, he had the right to go wherever he wished, whenever he wished. He also knew he would never forgive himself if something _had_ happened and he had just stood there, too proud to swallow his pride and go verify that she was all right.

            A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and he almost cried out in relief when Sarah entered, the crystal ball in one hand. Thank the gods she was okay. He took a deep breath to calm his pounding heart before he stood. 

            Sarah resolutely walked over to the table and thanked Jareth when he pulled a chair out for her. She took a deep breath. Time to get this over with.

            "If you have said everything you wish to say to me," she said solemnly, "I'll make this short and sweet." 

            *****

Ok, now don't send me flaming bags of dog poo on my doorstep. However, please DO send me an email or review telling me what you think! I'll post more as soon as I can.


	9. Time to Choose

Here is the next chapter, sorry it took so long, but it had to be written very slowly. You'll see what I mean. The lyrics I use (**_~words~_**) are from a song by Evanescence. Check them out, the singer has a beautiful voice. Thanks to everyone who's been reading. 

Andrea

Chapter 9: Time to Choose

Jareth looked at Sarah a moment before he sat back down and cleared his throat. 

"Sarah, I…" he looked down at the table then back up at her. "I have something I need to tell you…" 

She nodded, no emotion showing on her face. 

He ran a hand back through his hair anxiously. True, he hadn't thought everything out beforehand, but he had not thought that telling her would be this hard. He saw the table shaking gently and realized his leg was restlessly jumping up and down, moving it. He quickly stilled his movements, hoping Sarah hadn't seen. He stood up and started pacing the floor instead. 

Sarah watched Jareth fidget. To show any signs of nervousness was an extremely unusual thing for him; the Goblin King was always calm and collected, in control, so she could imagine how he felt right now. Perhaps he had caught the flock of butterflies that had inhabited her stomach earlier. For his sake, she hoped not. She'd felt so sick at one point she thought she would have fainted. She continued watching him and waited for him to speak. 

Jareth paced the floor restlessly, no longer caring if he appeared nervous to Sarah. He could feel his heart pounding, and knew his brow was damp with sweat. Was he becoming ill? Or was it simply nerves? He took a deep breath and turned to face Sarah. 

"Sarah, I think I love you," he blurted out. She had a shocked expression on her face and he continued softly. "I know I love you." She looked at him, still surprised.

"You do?"

He nodded slowly, watching her eyes. How did she feel about him? _Did_ she feel anything for him? She looked down at the table a moment then back up at Jareth. 

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" she asked. 

Not the reaction he'd hoped for, but at least she hadn't recoiled in terror or something. 

"I tried," he said, shaking his head, "but I don't think you picked up on it." He turned and kept pacing. 

"I know I should have tried again and told you earlier, but I just couldn't." He sighed and stopped pacing again, turning to Sarah. "I was just so nervous…everything started going well and I didn't want to ruin things between us." Sarah nodded, absently rubbing her collarbone. 

Jareth feared he may have just ruined everything by admitting how he felt to her, but if he were going to possibly lose her, he would rather know that he had at least told her how he felt. The decision to stay or leave was still hers. 

Sarah now knew for sure how he felt, but it didn't make choosing any easier. She'd come to like Jareth as a friend and when she thought about it, knew that that could easily become more. She had actually grown to love this wild haired man before her. 

_There_. She released the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She had admitted it to herself. She _did_ love him. But did she love him enough to give up her family for him? 

Sarah realized either way she would be losing Dawn and Heather; through the time paradox created if she stayed, or through her own death if she went home. Either way she was on the losing end of things.

She sat at the table, absently rubbing her collarbone again as she thought about her situation. She remembered, long ago, Jareth holding a crystal out to her. _It will show you your dreams…_and she realized he was offering her that chance again. Should she hold out her hand and accept his offer as she longed to, or deny him once again for the sake of her family? Wasn't sacrificing everything she'd ever wanted in life once before enough? 

She rubbed at her collarbone a bit harder, massaging the muscle in the area. She must have pulled it earlier doing something. Perhaps when she'd hurled that avocado? 

Jareth watched her nervously. He'd professed his love to her, and other than seeming surprised, he hadn't gotten any reaction out of her. She had not rejected him, had not said how she felt, had not _anything._ He was fairly sure that she had at least accepted him as a friend; she had grown accustomed to his presence and relaxed around him, she'd even smiled once or twice, but he was not certain of how she felt. 

He stole a glance at the clock. 12:49. He did not want to push her in making a decision, but he knew she was still aging, and she'd have to choose fast. The effect of his magic was running out. 

Sarah carefully thought about all of her options in her mind. She knew in her heart what she wanted to do, but her mind was screaming _No!_ at her. Seconds ticked by on the clock and after what seemed like an eternity to Jareth, she finally looked up at him. 

"Long ago I denied you to save Toby." Jareth nodded, remembering the past. "Even though he was an absolute monster at times, deep down, I really did love him." She stood up and started pacing the floor. 

"After that whole mess I'd convinced myself that it had all been a nightmare and tried to forget about you. Eventually it worked; I had to grow up, get a job, and move on in life. Years later I met and fell in love with Jake. He was my soul mate." She smiled to herself, her eyes unfocused as she remembered. "We got married and were both overjoyed when Dawn was born a few years later." Jareth saw the look on her face and could imagine her holding the baby. Her smile faded slightly as she continued. 

"We were unable to have any more children but we put all the love in the world into that darling little girl. Eventually she grew up, as children tend to do." Jareth nodded his agreement. Fae children aged much differently than mortals, but the progression was still astounding at times. 

"I still remember the night Heather was born," she laughed. "We had to take Dawn to the hospital at three in the morning." She looked at Jareth's wild locks. "I was so surprised when I saw she had bright blonde hair, though I didn't know why at the time." She looked down at the floor. 

"I guess even then I knew you weren't a nightmare… all of this was real. I _had_ wished Toby away, run your labyrinth and given up everything to save him." Jareth wondered what she meant by 'everything.' Was she subtly implying that she'd unwillingly given up him, or simply the desire to have all of her dreams fulfilled? 

"When the clock had struck thirteen and you turned into an owl, I even tried to catch the crystal you'd offered me as it fell," she snorted, "hoping by some chance I could have both." 

Both him and the baby, her dreams and the baby? What did this woman desire?

Her eyes were rimmed with tears and she looked back up at Jareth. 

"Jareth, I gave up many, many things so that both of my girls would be happy in life. I love them both so much…" 

Jareth nodded his understanding and tried not to let the sorrow he felt show. Right now he was just waiting for her to deliver her crushing blow; to say she wanted to go home. She'd be gone from his life forever. 

"I couldn't stand to lose them." She finished, and turned away from him to face the window. 

Jareth let his face fall completely. There it was. Once again, she'd chosen another over him. Rejected by the only woman he'd ever truly loved not once, but twice. He wiped a tear from one eye and stood up.

"I understand and respect your wishes," he nodded. "I've kept you here long enough to be fair. I'll send you home immediately if you wish."

*****

_ I'll send you home immediately… _

What?

Sarah turned around to looked at him and was surprised at his appearance. If she thought he'd looked pale and worn out the first time she'd denied him years ago, that was nothing in comparison. His complexion had gone ghostly white and he looked frail, almost sickly. His hair no longer shone with the vibrancy it had previously held; it now was a dull, ashen color. 

"Jareth, what's wrong?" she gasped. 

He smiled feebly as a tear ran down his cheek. "Everyone needs to be loved, Sarah, to have a purpose to their life." He looked down at his hands. "Even a long-forgotten Goblin King."

She ran to him and threw her arms around him in an embrace. 

"Oh Jareth," she whispered and ran her hands through his hair. "You misunderstood me…" she pulled back from him and looked into his mismatched eyes. She felt so bad. _She_ had done this to him. 

"Jareth, I want to stay with _you._" She saw comprehension reach his eyes and they brightened a little. She hugged him again and felt his arms pull her tighter. She was staying. They held each other a moment before Jareth spoke. 

"Sarah, you realize you will never be able to see your daughter or granddaughter again." She nodded. 

"If I go back home, I will still be losing Dawn and Heather. When I said that I couldn't stand to lose them, I meant that I want to stay here with you… I can still talk with them through your crystals."

Now Jareth understood. Sarah did not want to go back to her home because she was mortal and would die. By staying with him she got the best of both worlds; near immortality and the chance to continue seeing her family, even if it was an illusion. He pulled away from her and walked to the window, touching his forehead to the glass as he closed his eyes. He wanted her to stay with him, but this was not the way. 

Sarah took a few steps towards him. "What's wrong? Don't you want me to stay?"

Jareth swallowed the lump in his throat and turned to face her again. "Of course I do, Sarah," he choked out, "but I wanted you to stay because you loved me, not because you do not wish to lose your family." 

Sarah stood there with her mouth open for a moment. He thought this was all a way to get what she wanted in life? To save her own hide and still have contact with her girls? She felt her temper flare up at his assumption. 

"Why you arrogant, pig-headed, vain, conceited…" she started muttering. Jareth's eyebrows went up in surprise. "You never could lower yourself to think that someone's intentions may be pure!" she yelled, placing one hand on her chest for emphasis. "That perhaps someone on this earth could actually learn to reach behind that mask of indifference you always wear and love you!" Her heart was pounding and she rubbed her collarbone, taking deep breaths to try to calm herself. It wasn't working. 

"Fine!" she continued. "Forget your damn crystals! I've just given up my family for you, though now I'm not so sure that was a wise decision!" She turned her back to him and left him standing there, gaping. 

Sarah _did_ love him? And she wanted to stay? 

"Sarah," he said softly. She didn't move. "Sarah please. You must realize that I did not mean to offend you." He looked down at the floor. "It's just that you can only have your heart broken so many times in life before you begin to think that no one could ever love you." 

Sarah felt her anger lessening with his words. He'd been through a lot in his lifetime. She slowly turned around to face him. 

"I would be honored if you chose to stay here with me," he said, and held out his hand to her. Sarah looked at it for a moment, then slowly brought her hand down from her chest and put it in his. He pulled her to him and kissed her deeply. 

"I love you," he whispered. 

Sarah took a deep breath. 

"I…" Jareth heard her gasp. "I…" He pulled away and looked at her. Her face was contorted in a mask of pain and she had one hand on her heart. 

"I.. can't… breathe," she managed. Jareth quickly picked her up and started carrying her to the bedroom she'd been staying in. 

**_~Hold on to me love, you know I can't stay long…~_**

Jareth bit his lip and walked as fast as he could. He didn't know what was happening, but it almost seemed like she was having a heart attack. But that should be happening in a week, _if_ she'd gone home… it couldn't be happening now. 

"Jareth?" she mumbled weakly. What was going on? 

**_~Can you hear me? Can you feel me in your arms?~_**

"Hang on Sarah," she heard him say. He sounded worried. What was going on? This hurt much worse than the other times. As the pain doubled in her heart and spread up to her arm, she realized what was happening. She was having a heart attack. He got to the bedroom and gently lay her down on the bed. 

"I'm dying," she wheezed, "aren't I Jareth?"

**_ ~I know you hear me, I can taste it in your tears…~_**

****He shook his head no, though a tear dropped down his chin and landed on her cheek. She brought a hand up to his cheek and wiped the rest away. 

"Don't worry about me," she said. "It's my time."

**_~All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid…~_**

****"Sarah," he sobbed, "don't leave me." He pulled her closer and whispered into her ear. "I love you Sarah, I love you. Don't leave me, just hang on, it will be ok." He closed his eyes as more tears fell. Sarah shook her head. 

"There's nothing I can do, Jareth, it's part of life."

**_~Closing your eyes to disappear, you pray your dreams will leave you here…~_**

****"Jareth…" she gasped, her breathing becoming more labored. "I love you…" He kissed her on the mouth as he cried and held her. She could taste the saltiness of his grief. 

"I will always love you, Sarah," he told her, and watched her close her eyes for the final time as the clock struck thirteen. 

**_ ~Say goodnight, don't be afraid, calling me, holding me, as you fade to black…~_**

*********

The End

*Whew!* that was a lot of typing, and a lot of reading. Thanks for sticking with it! 

Firstly, I couldn't write the title of the song I used at the beginning of the story- it would give the ending away!- so here it is. "My Last Breath." 

Secondly, please don't kill me, send me hate mail, or other such actions. This is my story, and this was the plot I'd had planned all along, so I couldn't change it. Please tell me what you think though! A sequel is in the works. 


	10. Deleted Chapter & Author's Note

**Author's Note:** No, you aren't crazy- there _was_ another chapter to this story. I had originally intended for the story to end as it now does (Sarah dies then fade to black), but had added one last chapter to set the plot up for a possible sequel. After posting it, I felt that it only subtracted from the storyline, so I returned the ending to my initial outline. 

            To date, the tenth chapter is being re-written, and will be the beginning chapter for my next story, the sequel to 'Time to Choose.'

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my story. I really appreciate the comments!

Dearlady2002

Andrea


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